Our fathers know - PoTigress
by Ookami28
Summary: A Po/Tigress fic in (early) celebration of Valentine's day! Note: this takes place after the third film which I haven't seen yet, so forgive me if there are some incorrect details in there. Spoiler warning though (!) for those who haven't seen it either (I was unable to keep myself from them *cough*) :3 A part 2 may be written later.


"Dad, the soup has to boil before you serve it!" Po trotted in zig-zag between the customers and over to the desk where an eager Li was about to serve a bowl of cold noodles to an impatient bunny.

"Oh, sorry son! Are you sure though? All that chili I added is bound to make it hot once you eat it." Li replied with a laugh as Po hastily removed the plate from the counter while giving an apologetic smile to the bunny crossing his arms and frowning in annoyance.

"Not funny, dad. This place is known as the having the best noodles in the valley, me and my _other_ dad intend to keep it that way." Po sighed while pouring the soup back into the pot.

"Fine, son. All these villagers could learn from us pandas though, food don't always have to be boiled and spiced to be eaten, everything tastes great if you set your mind for it." Li said with another chuckle as he patted his belly, which Po couldn't help but give a smile back at while rolling his eyes.

"Hah, are you _really_ sure you're related? Po certainly didn't inherit his cooking skills from you." Ping half-scolded, half-teased as he returned from serving plates just in time to see the scuffle. "The deal was that you helped serve the customers, not scare them away. If you don't think you can do it, I'm sure they've work for you some other place."

"Okay dads, that's enough. _Dad_ ," Po said while pointing at Li to clarify whom he meant, "cook the food properly. And dad," he said while turning his finger to Ping; "give him a chance and I'm sure he'll do great. I for one am loving working with both of you like this!" He gave a content smile to encourage them to listen, and they sighed and nodded in return before turning to their duties at hand, Li with his paw on the stirring spoon and Ping with plates needing cleaning.

Po scoffed and shook his head while he returned to the customer's tables, balancing three plates on each arm. Without really thinking of it, he found himself enjoying how elegantly he turned and bowed and slid the plates of his arms onto the tables in front of awe-struck and applauding customers, a big difference to how clumsy and awkward that task had been nearly his entire life up until about a year ago.

It had been a week since Kai was defeated and the Valley of Peace was returned to normal. That was, apart from buildings here and there that still needed repairing, and everyone was pitching in to help out around the Valley, hence why Li was trying his cooking skills with Po and Ping while the restaurant was flooded with customers wanting a place to rest and eat while their homes were being repaired. Po took a step outside after placing the last bowl and caught a glance of Monkey and Crane in the distance carrying some timber for a house, while a few pandas where elsewhere making straw roofs or entertaining village kids.

"Cuddles!"

Po heard a familiar voice behind him as he turned around to see Lei Lei running as fast her as her tiny legs could carry her, a huge smile spread on her face as she laughed heartily and held out two small chubby arms in front of her.

"Hey, Lei Lei!" Po smiled and bended down to lift her up as she reached him, giving her a hug which she eagerly returned, giggling frantically into his neck.

"What's the rush there, little one?"

"Stripy Baby's gonna get me!" Lei Lei said between her giggles.

"Haha, what?" Po barely got to ask before he saw Tigress rounding the corner, wearing an amused smile as she shook her head and made her way to the two pandas, her arrival making Lei Lei laugh even louder as she grabbed a tighter hold of Po, pretending to be afraid "Stripy Baby" would get her.

"So that's how you play tag, seeking comfort with "Cuddles" here?" Tigress said with a laugh while nudging at Lei Lei's cheek who squealed in joy and continued to hide her head in Po's neck.

"So that's how it is?" Po returned the laugh, though he partly did so to cover up his awkward smile at hearing Tigress refer to him by Lei Lei's childish nickname.

"Don't worry Lei Lei," he playfully said while tightening his hold on her. "I'll protect you from the scary Tigress."

"Baby's not scary!" Lei Lei retorted while suddenly letting go her hold and gesturing for Po to let her down, to which he obeyed while smiling and shaking his head at Tigress, who gave the same amused look back.

"I like her!" Lei Lei continued while returning to her favourite object of holding which was either one of Tigress' limbs, this time her right leg.

"Hahah no worries, Lei Lei. I like her too." Po assured her, looking from her to Tigress who was giving him a warm smile in response. It had been in complete innocence, but Po felt a tingling feeling flutter inside him at what he had said, and the sight of one of Tigress's rare smiles didn't help. He didn't know if he had been looking at her a bit too long, for she suddenly cleared her throat and averted her gaze from him and down to Lei Lei, whom none of them noticed had been looking curiously back and forth at them.

"Well, Po here has his work to do, and so do we, Lei Lei. I told you I would help you knit a straw basket, but you have to help me too, right? You have to show me how it's done."

"Yaaay!" Lei Lei exclaimed while letting go of her leg and reaching for her paw. "I'll show Stripy Baby to make a basket! And… and we'll make one for Cuddles!" she sang while pulling Tigress in the direction of the pandas who were busy straw-knitting.

"Yes, let's make one for Cuddles." Tigress chuckled while looking back at Po and giving a small wave. "Sorry I can't stay around to talk, Po. I'll see you later."

"See you." Po returned the wave and found himself letting his gaze follow them a little, a smile lingering on his face.

"And you were complaining about me slacking off? What are _you_ doing, son?"

Po jolted at his biological dad appearing behind him and giving a playful pat on his back.

"Sorry… just talking to Tigress and Lei Lei… heh, those two have really hit it off."

"Mm, they sure have…" Li replied as his gaze went from Tigress and Lei Lei in the distance and back to Po who hastily returned to Ping to help him out with more orders, a small smile appearing on Li's face.

A few hours later, night was slowly covering the valley, and only a few customers remained in the little restaurant as everyone had finished their work for the day and the villagers returned to their partly or almost finished homes to get some sleep in their own beds. Li slumped down on a stool he found was a few sizes too small for him and wiped some sweat from his forehead, having found the business of cooking noodles a lot harder work than he'd imagined.

"So, son…" he began as he looked over at Po who was busy putting plates in the cupboards.

"When are you going to tell that Tigress lady what you feel for her?"

"What?" Po paused mid-movement, looking over at his dad with a stunned face.

"Hah! Good to know I'm not the only one who noticed." Ping casually commented while appearing from the washroom with more bowls.

" _What?"_ Po repeated, looking at his other dad, his shocked expression growing.

"Please son, stop repeating everything you say when you talk to us." Li chuckled as he continued to wipe his head.

Po turned his gaze to the floor and sighed in annoyance, his immediate reaction being to go over in his head if he should simply deny and claim to have no clue what they were talking about. But, they were his dads. There was no use lying upfront to them, not when they'd already figured out that much.

"Okay… I might have… a _thing_ for her..." Po slowly replied while keeping his gaze to the ground. "But… it's complicated, alright? Let's just leave it at that." He commented as an attempt to end the topic and continued putting the plates back in place, though he figured it was pointless expecting _two_ teasing fathers to leave him alone now that their son had basically confessed to liking a girl.

"Right, a 'thing'". Li chuckled again. "I was at back in my homeland with the two of you, you know? I saw the way you would look at her."

"Aww, Po." Ping said as he put the plates down and looked up at Po who gave a defeated look back at him. "You mean 'complicated' as in her not, how should I put it… _looking_ like you do? Come now, I'm a goose and I raised _you!"_

"Yeah well…" Po sighed as he put the last plates back in place before fully turning to him. "I wasn't necessarily thinking of that. Besides, there's a difference between _raising_ someone of a different species, and uh… marrying one." He spoke the last part slowly as he got embarrassed at his choice of words.

"Well, I must admit," Li spoke up while wearing an amused expression, "I had imagined you'd find yourself a girlfriend when I took you to the panda village. Not right away that is, but… eventually? My bet was totally on Mei Mei." He said while tracing Po's face for a reaction, who had turned to him as he spoke and gave an apologetic look.

"But, the heart wants what the heart wants. Besides, I'll be curious to see how a tiger-panda baby looks li-"

"Oh my Oogway, are you kidding me?! We are _not_ having this conversation!" Po raised his paws to his ears and walked off to the back of the restaurant, feeling his cheeks flush both at his dad's words and the sound of the two of them laughing at his back as he climbed the stairs and rolled into the bed of his old room, mumbling angry words under his breath.

Eventually, his thoughts trailed off, and he found his gaze directed at the stars framed by the bedroom window, feeling his anger and embarrassment lift a little and give way for a sting of sadness.

It was the first time he had actually discussed his feelings for Tigress out loud, he realized. He had known for some time that he was, in fact, in love with her.

…was it the 'different species' thing that had him feeling insecure of his feelings? Perhaps, but he felt it leaned more towards him simply wondering if Tigress would like him… for _him._ He knew he was dear to her… hell, she had once taken a _cannonball_ for him… thank Oogway she had survived. But he wasn't sure if her affection for him could be traced to romantic love… or if it simply was a sisterly thing; her loving him like a brother. That perhaps her risking her life for him was partly caring for him, partly her brave and dutiful nature…

Argh, thinking of it just annoyed him. He turned to his side and quickly shut his eyes, deciding to sleep, but as he tried to let his mind wander, it unconsciously went to that moment just a few hours back when Tigress had smiled at him before breaking her stare.

Had he seen something in her then?

He thought back to how devastated she had looked at him when he was wounded after his fight with Kai, how she had been the first to run to him for a hug after everyone had returned him from the spirit realm. For that matter, that first time she had hugged him, in Gongmen city. He hadn't really thought of it then, but the expressions on the rest of the Five should have been an indicator to him of how rare it was for her to hug someone. But there she had been, wrapping her arms around him, pleading for him to be safe. And he couldn't help it, he had returned the hug later after she'd recovered from Lord Shen's cannon fire. The way she'd been stunned at his hug was still clear in his memory.

Then again… this was Tigress. It could have been the first time someone had ever hugged her… her whole life. Anyone with that predicament would react like she did.

 _Ah, stop thinking about it._

Po finally felt tiredness drape over his mind as he managed to let the confusing thoughts be.

Before succumbing to sleep however, he felt a smile trace his mouth as his thoughts went to the tiger sleeping somewhere, with a content Lei Lei in her arms.

*two days later*

"Well done, Tigress. You may be at ease." Shifu instructed as he watched the feline straighten herself and roll her shoulders, giving an irritated sigh as she still felt a lingering ache in her ribs, causing the occasional cringe while performing battle techniques. Shifu was no longer their primary teacher, an honour of which had been bestowed to Po, but he had still taken it upon himself to share a session with each of the Five after the ordeal with Kai to observe how their physical states were bearing. If anything, he worried about his former students and wanted to see for himself how they were doing.

"I see you're still having an ache there. It'll pass." Shifu commented as he broke his focus to elegantly jump from his staff.

"I know, it just irritates me." Tigress said while rubbing at her torso. Shifu twirled the staff horizontally to rest it behind his back before walking over to the edge of the yard they were training, gazing down at the Valley of Peace below.

"…It's good to see they're all getting their homes together."

Tigress followed and stood next to him, sharing his content expression as she directed her gaze towards the area where most of the pandas were occupied, knowing it to be where Lei Lei was at.

"I must say," Shifu interrupted her thoughts, "I didn't really take you as the openly motherly type." He gave a teasing smile in her direction, finding her uncertain at how to respond other than to give a small chuckle. "But that little panda… Lei Lei is her name? She's lucky to have you." His smile grew bigger as he figured he was embarrassing his former student seeing her partly turn her head away and slowly reply "Thank you, Master."

He figured, however, that it couldn't possibly embarrass her more than what he at the moment couldn't help but bring up, the thought having played on his mind for some time.

"So…" he began, intentionally making a pause to await her turning her head back to him.

"You and Po."

Tigress blinked her eyes a few times, not sure if she had heard right.

"Master?" She turned her head forward again, not wanting Shifu to see the light shock trailing her face.

"The two of you have grown quite close over this past year." He spoke matter of factly, looking calmly ahead so not to make her feel like she was being interrogated. Tigress cleared her throat.

"Po is my… dear friend, Master."

She continued looking forward, wanting to hide her expression that grew uneasy.

"That he is." Shifu replied with the same calmness to his voice. "And I know you're very dear to him as well. Possibly, you've become even dearer to him after everything that's happened..."

"…maybe." Tigress felt herself at loss for more words, feeling an awkward sensation in her chest.

There was a possibility that Po was in love with her… she had figured out as much for a while now. But hearing the topic being brought up, by master Shifu of all people, made her uncomfortable.

"I'm just saying…" Shifu paused, pondering how to word himself in the least intrusive way. "Perhaps it is so that… he has become a lot dearer to you as well-"

" _Master..."_ Tigress couldn't help but interrupt.

"Forgive me, but… I don't think this is an appropriate conversation to have..."

"No, forgive me." Shifu sighed, figuring he had been digging enough. "I was being impertinent." He gazed to the Valley below again, chuckling softly before turning around to make his way around Tigress and towards the steps from the yard. He was about to tell her to go and see the little Lei Lei, when he found the words halting in his mouth at Tigress speaking up.

"We're warriors, master."

He turned to her with a confused look.

"Hm?"

From where he stood he watched her face furrow as she slightly lowered her gaze to the ground.

"It's not really in our place to… have _relationships_ with each other."

Tigress kept her gaze to the ground, awaiting a response from Shifu that took long enough for her to curiously turn her head to him, only to find the red panda staring back at her with a pair of shocked eyes.

"Don't you… think so..?" she confusedly asked in response to his expression. There was a brief flash of a smile on his face before he shook his head to break the stare and revert to an indifferent expression.

"Well, I beg to differ. But if you say so." And with that he turned around to continue on his path towards the steps. Tigress couldn't help but stare in disbelief at his back.

Since when had the old master become so carefree and… teasing?

She couldn't tell if she was happy to have him act as appreciative of her as she had often dreamed the former harsh master would be, or if she was slightly freaked out to have Shifu behave down right… _fatherly_ like this. Was he really enjoying his retirement that much?

 _If Po has become dearer to me…?_

She sighed, turning her head to gaze down at the Valley again. Shifu had basically asked her if she loved Po, of which she had given a not-much-thought-through answer in return. As his expression would imply… she had basically confessed.

Was it true?

 _Do I… love Po?_

There was a familiar warm feeling welling up inside Tigress. Familiar; the same that had unfolded when she felt those great panda arms wrap tightly around her after the defeat of Lord Shen. Perhaps even before, as if something had been growing inside her for a while. Something that had made her hug him that time in Gongmen jail without a second thought despite never having hugged… _anyone_. Something that had made her terrified of losing him. Something that had crushed her when she believed she _had_ lost him _._

 _Twice_ now.

 _I never want to experience it again._

Tigress raised her paw to her chest at the brief panicky feeling hitting her, being reminded of how she had witnessed Po disappearing from their life so abruptly again. That he had even returned this time was little more than a miracle, and she struggled to put it in words just how relieved she was that he was still here. Still training alongside her and the others. Still telling them his jokes. Still smiling and greeting her when she visited him at Mr. Ping's. Still here so she had someone to go to for sharing her thoughts and feelings.

Still here so she could hug him again.

Tigress let a small smile trace the corner of her mouth as she closed her eyes to think back on a year ago when her biggest wish had been to bury the panda six feet under the Jade Palace.

And now, she figured… she couldn't quite imagine life without him.

 _I guess it means…_

She sighed, slowly opening her eyes and gazing at the Valley covered in a soft light of the setting sun, to the area where Mr. Ping's restaurant was at, feeling warmer than ever as she realized a blush was spreading beneath her furry cheeks.

 _Damn you, panda._

Tigress cleared her throat. She shook her head and made an abrupt turn to head for the steps, steering her thoughts to the little Lei Lei who would probably attempt to climb the stairs to the Jade Palace soon should she wait any longer. But for the first time, Tigress realized that the thought of running into Po left her feeling nervous. Very much so.

That evening, Tigress walked down the steps from the Jade Palace to the Valley of Peace below a little slower than she usually did.


End file.
